Great Expectations
by algavia
Summary: Sakura finds a way to tell her husband she's pregnant.


They seek shelter from the pouring rain in an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods.

He takes her by the hand and rushes there, and before opening the door, even though he senses no one there besides them (and he knows she senses the same), he tells her to wait a second at the porch and he goes inside, hand on his sword and ready to draw at the slightest movement.

What he finds is a deserted room with a beat up couch on the left side, a fallen lamp and a couple of books scattered on the floor. Daylight coming in from the cracks of the walls, and plants and flower are growing from the ones on the floor. The window is broken, and vines freely creep in, making their way up to the ceiling, growing freely. To the right side, there's a doorframe but no door, and what Sasuke supposes used to be a kitchen, but there's only a table with a couple of chairs, counters that used to be white, no stove and no fridge. Broken window once again, nature taking over as it always does. The other rooms of the small cabin are the same: a bedroom in which he finds an iron bedframe and no mattress, an empty, dusty wardrobe and a nightstand that looks ready to crumble. The bathroom consists of a bathtub full of dirt and dead leaves, a toilet that has absolutely no use, a broken mirror on the tile wall, and a sink.

He makes his way back to Sakura, who is checking their bag, probably making sure if any of their supplies got damaged or wet while they were running. When she sees him, she smiles, and he nods, stretches out his arm towards her with an open palm, says: "It's safe," and leads her in once she grabs his hand.

He knows she doesn't need protection like this, he knows she can kill an enemy with just a flick of her wrist, but it makes him feel better if he sees it for himself that there's no harm or danger waiting to take her away from him.

Inside, she stands in the middle of the room, amazed at the scenery.

The smell of rain and wet dirt is intoxicating, he has to admit, but what captivates him even more is Sakura and the way she's glowing in the middle of so much green. It's not hard to notice her beauty at all, but when it's just them like this, when he can see the way her hair is now reaching past her shoulders, how her eyes seem to gleam whenever she looks at him, how delicate her features are-when it's just them like this, yes, it's a struggle to look away.

She's still holding his hand when she moves closer to him.

"This is perfect, we can spend the night here," she says, and he nods.

He watches as she lets go of his hand and takes off her own poncho, revealing a red tank top that fits her perfectly and a beige skirt with black shorts underneath. She takes off her black boots and sighs in relief.

The large bag she carefully puts on the floor, crouches down to dig through it. She takes out a folded sheet, gets back up and walks toward the old couch and neatly unfolds the sheet there, covering all the rips and the damage on the couch's fabric. Once she's done, she throws herself down and stretches out her legs and arms before turning to her side.

"This is so good," she says, stretching out the 'o's. "You should come here," she tells him.

He can't help but smile and do as he's told. He walks to her, she lifts up her legs and once he sits down, she puts them on his lap. His hand snakes up to her waist, and then he slides it up and down her leg.

She sighs and closes her eyes at the caress, and for a while they stay like this; enjoying each other's company and the sound of rain outside. In a moment like this, he thinks his life makes sense. He thinks that all the sins and all the mistakes had to happen so he could be with her exactly as he is now; unafraid, attatched, in love.

He thinks she makes everything better and he knows not even a lifetime could ever make it up for what he put her through, but that doesn't mean he can't try. It doesn't mean he won't meet her again, in another life, and treat her right from the start, no drifting apart, no blood on their hands. She has stayed by his side through everything, good and bad, and he has vowed to do the same. Not out of obligation, but because he has found that he's too far gone. Too far gone in her, in his feelings for her.

She's the love of his life.

"We should stay here forever," she says, eyes still closed.

"Forever?"

"Yeah."

"There's a garden growing in the living room floor, Sakura."

"We'd just have to water it," is her solution.

"Well, we'd have privacy, no doubt," he concludes.

"See?"

He chuckles at that, and she smiles.

(There's a secret here: he thinks she's smiling because the idea of living in a place such as this sounds good and dreamy, but really, she's smiling because she knows she's the one who made him chuckle.)

"Hey, Sasuke..."

"Hmm?"

"There's only one bedroom, right?"

"Right."

"Ah, that's no good."

He frowns. "No?"

"Of course not. I mean, the baby needs a room, too."

He lets her words sink in, swallows dry and tries to keep his feelings under control, but his heart skips a beat and then another and then his hand is trembling.

When he looks at her, her green eyes are staring at him and there's a smirk on her face. He already knows, but something makes him ask it anyway:

"You mean?"

She sits up, giggling, and is very straightforward about it all.

"Found out yesterday," she starts. "I guess I-"

Before she can finish her sentence, he pulls her into a hug, she melts against him and he holds her close, his fingers on her hair, he closes his eyes and gives his brain some time to register this moment. He's going to be a father, responsible for a tiny human being that will depend on him and Sakura. Suddenly, everything comes crashing down on him: How much he's been longing for her, needing her, loving her and just how badly he's been wanting this, happiness, a family, a place to belong. He's made a home out of her heart, and now she has given him a child, a tiny little thing that will be cared for and adored, that he will protect until the end of his life, that he will make sure doesn't know the kind of pain and sacrifice he once knew. He realizes he's crying when he leans back and Sakura's eyes, instead of going wide in surprise, soften and she tilts her head to the side, her right hand on his face to wipe away a tear running down his cheek. He's not ashamed to be seen like this by her, and he lets her in, and before she can say anything, he swallows back a sob and plants a kiss on her forehead, lets it linger for a moment and then he kisses her lips, soft and quick.

"Thank you," he says in a whisper.

He likes that even though he has professed his love to her, those two words are still the ones that make her blush the hardest.

"Can you believe it?" she looks down, both hands on top of her belly and then stares back up at him. "We're gonna be parents."

He moves his hand to place it on top of hers, smiling.

"I suppose we can build another bedroom," he says. "Or find an abandoned mansion in the woods instead."

Sakura's laughter joins in with the sound of the rain, and in a fit of joy, she leans forward and kisses him this time.

He drowns in her, silently wishing he didn't have to come back for air.


End file.
